I Think I've just Been Scammed!!!!

I have just received a telephone call from someone claiming to be from a phone company who's name i'm not sure I can mention on a forum e.t.c trying to sell me a T Mobile mobile phone.
I believe this may have been a hoax call due to several factors.
The man wanted my bank details and shouted at me when i wouldnt give them to him
He then asked a "supervisor" to speak to me, The supervisor was also pushy and talked me into giving him my sort code, account number and switch number. I was then asked when i get my bank statement, the beginning or end of month, which i thought was a strange question to ask.
As I was on the phone I looked up the name of the company on the internet and found a website bearing the company name, advertising Vodaphone products, not T Mobile as the man on the phone claimed. He then gave me a customer service phone number of 0870 062 5584 which i double checked with him. He then told me a £5 charge would be made to my account towards processing, contradictory to previously telling me I would pay nothing untill the end of the month.
I subsequently phoned the customer service number given to me which connected me to a company that was not "The probably bogus company" but a distribution company who had never heard of "said bogus company", and had no business dealings with mobile phone companies at all.
Believing myself to have been "scammed" I have contacted my bank immediately and had a stop put on my card and account.
So have I been scammed or what??????
Man I hate telesales callers.

Well after watching something about that last night (think it was tonight with trevor mcdonald) I would say you probably have. The reporter said that anyone (banks etc) will never ask for your account details, and the only time you are requested to give your details is if its you ringing them.

Yes I will tell you all the obviously bogus company (A thousand aplogies if there is a legit non bogus version of this company name) it was " Teleprospect LTD" trading as "Cellphones Direct."

I am now convinced the call was indeed totally and utterly BOGUS!

I tried 1471 and you guessed it no number available.
I emailed the online version of the company suggesting to them their name was being used fraudulently, and guess what, the mails were returned "critical flaw" in the adress. So probably a bogus online company too by the looks of it.

I told the bank exactly why i was cancelling card. The bank lady was a super star (cheers bank lady) and is putting out all sorts of notes on my account to stop any new direct debits being set up etc. So fingers crossed my cash is still safe.

I also emailed Tmobile to tell them that their name is being used fraudulently.
What a bummer though got no cash on me at all and got to wait 4 new card to come

So tmp'ers if they ring you I'd try out some good old "No thank you's", or "Does your phone do this? (slams handset down)" or even "Hello, Hello? Helooo? no sorry can't hear you, bye"
Or even answer the phone with a few novelties like " Hello underground airlines booking office, how can I help you?" or "At the third stroke the time sponsored by accurist will be .......... precisely beep beep beep" That usually gets rid of em in 2 seconds flat.

Can't beleive I was sucked in. Should have realised that it was a bit too odd when they proper pressurised me 4 my bank details :hammerDoh

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Did the bank advisor not suggest closing the account? One of the worst things you can do is give your account details to any unverified third party! Giving dates of your bank statement may allow them some access to your account as it is a common question asked to identify a customer (e.g., via telephone banking). Report the call to the police and then use the reference number they will give you to the bank's fraud team as a starting point. Your bank should have a fraud helpline to guide your course of action.

... sorry to hear that it happened! You have the hassle of contacting all the companies regarding setting up your bill payments on a new account. Can you tell me why you cancelled the card? Did they manage to get the CVC number (the 3 digit security number on the back?) as well as expiry date and issue number? It's unlikely they can do much on your account without this information. It would be hard for them to set up a direct debit mandate without your authorising it by signing the form!

Well like I said i'm so stupid! :hammer
I let them talk me into giving them the flaming security number on the back. How thick is that, I'm kicking myself now really I am.
I told the bank lady all this and she said my new card will have totally different numbers on it, I'll have a new pin number and security code too. She reckons that no one can now use the details I gave out and that my cash is safe but recommends I keep an eye on the internet banking daily and to let them know if anything slips through the net.

Well like I said i'm so stupid! :hammer
I let them talk me into giving them the flaming security number on the back. How thick is that, I'm kicking myself now really I am.
I told the bank lady all this and she said my new card will have totally different numbers on it, I'll have a new pin number and security code too. She reckons that no one can now use the details I gave out and that my cash is safe but recommends I keep an eye on the internet banking daily and to let them know if anything slips through the net.

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... Hopefully they didn't use the details to buy anything online or over the phone between you giving them the details and getting in touch with the bank. It's okay when the card is cancelled, ... any attempt to purchase will be declined. If you do find anything out of place you can claim through what's called a switch dispute form, with which the bank's fraud team will investigate and hopefully refund to your account. This can take weeks though, but usually the funds will be re-credited until they are finished. But again, if you do see something fraudulant, report it first to the police and get a reference number from them. This convinces the bank that it is a serious matter.

Anther thing to watch out for. A company will ring you offering to upgrade your mobile phone free of charge. They do take your bank details and what they do is actually set you up a brand new account with a new telephone number tying you into a contract for a year. They don't actually take any money from your account, the bank details are used for setting up a direct debit to pay the future bills on the account. Contrary to what someone suggested earlier direct debits do not need a signature to be set up. The company then claims a fee from the mobile phone provider (t-mobile, orange ect.) for signing up a new customer. The company doesn't cancel your old account it's up to you to do that. I must point out though that certainly the mobile phone provider I used to work for didn't approve of this practice and used to reprimand dealers that did this but it didn't seem to deter many of them.

...Contrary to what someone suggested earlier direct debits do not need a signature to be set up...

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.... then how can the bank tell whether the new mandate is going to be genuine or not? Surely a mobile phone company cannot 'take-over' an existing mandate from another? (e.g., T-Mobile using the same mandate as Orange). . This would mean that both customer and bank would have little control if a contract allows this!

Just a point on the telephone preference service. This is a great service that stops cold calling from double glazing sales teams etc. However it is not going to stop any scams.
I cannot imagine the crooks behind this consulting the TPS database before ringing you.

.... then how can the bank tell whether the new mandate is going to be genuine or not? Surely a mobile phone company cannot 'take-over' an existing mandate from another? (e.g., T-Mobile using the same mandate as Orange). . This would mean that both customer and bank would have little control if a contract allows this!

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They don't, it's a trust thing. The bank give out advice to their customers regarding the security of information, it's only natural that they expect that advice to be followed. We use the bankwizard software on our servers at work because we process online direct debit details and with the right information it is all automatic no signatures involved anywhere.